David, Diane, Teresa, and Joe reassemble after a down week and David brings his A game, talking about Adam Schiff's ⁠Midnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still Could⁠.

The group discusses political nonfiction books, dystopian fiction, and everything in between.

The discourse gets a little salty so listener/viewer discretion is advised.

The Hepcats --- Teresa, Diane, David, and Joe --- return from the Holiday break to talk about their favorite "looking forward" books

• Diane: The Joy Diet by Martha Beck
• Teresa: Strong Ground by Brené Brown
• Joe: ⁠The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

And, as it turns out, there's already another podcast called 4 Friends & a Book so the crew is in search of a new name. Drop us your suggestion at PatchouliPodcast@gmail.com. If you don't come up with a name, David will come up with one. Nobody wants that.

Teresa, Diane, David, and Joe share their favorite Holiday (and Holiday-adjacent) reads and traditions.

• Diane: The Briar Club by Kate Quinn
• Teresa: Maria by Michelle Moran
• Joe: Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
• David: The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore

The Friends take on the big Holiday question: Is fruit cake -- and, by extension, fruit cake cookies -- a sin?

David shares a beloved family Christmas tradition with the very special reading of Clement Moore's classic, The Night Before Christmas and Kooper makes his Four Friends and a Book debut at the 48-ish minute mark.And, of course, the Four Friends wish a Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night.